


The path not taken

by ebonyfeather



Series: Misunderstood 'verse [5]
Category: Primeval
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-29
Updated: 2012-04-29
Packaged: 2017-11-04 13:08:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/394219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebonyfeather/pseuds/ebonyfeather
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ethan and Danny find themselves in an alternate world, one where Ethan didn’t join the ARC, instead waging a war against the team. Thinking they’ve finally captured him, they take it out on the wrong Ethan. (contains non-con)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The path not taken

 

Danny and Ethan stepped through the anomaly seconds before it closed behind them. Ethan was ahead but he stopped so suddenly that Danny, looking back as the anomaly vanished, walked into him.

 

“Nice one, Quinn. ‘Knew you’d manage to drag the little fucker back here.”

 

Danny looked up to find Ethan frozen to the spot, eyes wide as he saw Becker’s gun aimed directly at his forehead.

 

“What are you doing?” he demanded, trying to step in between Ethan and Becker but Becker just laughed, gun hand never wavering.

 

“You can stop the big brother act now; we’ve got him. Don’t tell me he actually fell for it?” Becker sneered at Ethan. “As if Quinn could ever really give a shit about you.”

 

Ethan looked around at them, at Becker and his men, all armed and surrounding them, at Matt standing off to one side, eyes never meeting Ethan’s. His face was battered and bruised and a large, white, gauze pad taped across his throat.

 

“What’s happening?” Ethan asked, confused. “Matt?”

 

Becker backhanded him so hard that he staggered, hand held to his face. “You don’t speak to him. You don’t even say his name!”

 

Danny watched his brother find his balance again, Ethan standing up straight before Becker.

 

“I ought to put a bullet in you for what you did to Matt and Connor,” Becker continued. “And I will, but not yet. First, I think the lads want to have a few words...”

 

“Wait! Where is Connor?”

 

This time, the blow took him to his knees but Becker dragged him back to his feet, almost throwing Ethan toward his men. Becker smiled.

 

“He’s all yours.”

 

~.~

 

Danny watched helplessly as Ethan was stripped and handcuffed and thrown into the cell of the abandoned prison where the anomaly had opened up. It was the same place he’d seen his brother that first time, just after getting back himself, where he’d followed him through to get him back again only weeks later.

 

“Whatever you think he’s done, it wasn’t Ethan,” he said, in a desperate attempt to get them out of here. “He’s on our side; he’s been working with us for months!”

 

Becker stared at him incredulously. “I don’t believe it; he conned you too. I’m not sure what happened when you went after him and I don’t care. He’s not leaving this place alive. He killed Connor!”

 

“What?”

 

“We heard just after you went through the anomaly. He had internal bleeding but they didn’t find it until it was too late. They couldn’t save him. All he did was try and help when he saw what was happening to Matt.”

 

Danny couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but that still didn’t change the facts. “It wasn’t Ethan- or rather, not that Ethan. I’m telling you; he did not do any of those things.”

 

Becker lowered his voice after glancing back to make sure that Matt wouldn’t hear them. “How can you defend him? He put Matt though months of abuse- he fucked with Matt until he was bored and then just cut his throat and tossed him aside. If we hadn’t had him under surveillance...” Becker shook his head. “I was there when Matt was examined, I heard the doctor list off his injuries: Bruises, lacerations, cracked ribs,” his voice faltered slightly as he added, “sexual assault, both with foreign objects and cock. That little shit is not leaving this place alive.”

 

Obviously expecting Danny to try and stop them, he dragged the other man outside, where he couldn’t hear Ethan’s pleas. Danny knew he had to play along to get them out of here; Becker seemed too caught up in his grief and anger to listen to what Danny had to say, unwilling to believe that they weren’t from this universe. Each time Danny tried, Becker just looked at him as though he was crazy and accused Ethan of drugging or brainwashing him.

 

All it accomplished was that Becker was now keeping a closer eye on him than before. He couldn’t let Becker take him away from here or he’d never get Ethan back.

 

~.~

 

Ethan was pushed into the cell, landing on the cold stone floor. Four of Becker’s men had brought him in here. He recognised them; he’d been working with Jacob, Mark and Pete for the past six months. There was only one that he didn’t know. His head hit the ground, unable to stop himself falling that way with his hands still cuffed tightly behind his back. He was naked, his entire body hurt from the blows he’d received before he was thrown in here, and he still didn’t know what the hell they thought he’d done.

 

He was aware that this wasn’t their world, and that the Ethan in this world had done the crimes that he was receiving the punishment for, but it didn’t make it any easier to take. They wouldn’t listen when he tried to explain that he didn’t belong here, immediately assuming that he was lying in an attempt to escape.

 

Matt had been outside, beaten up and refusing to meet his eyes, and he was worried even though he knew this wasn’t his Matt. Each time he tried to ask, however, he received another punch or kick.

 

“Look at you. Not so fucking tough now, are you?” Jacob said as another boot came into contact with his side.

 

Hands under his arms pulled him up onto his knees, the rough floor grazing his skin, and fingers grasped his jaw.

 

“Open up,” Mark demanded. “Becker did say we could play with you before we dispose of you, so open your fucking mouth.”

 

Mark’s fingers squeezed, forcing his jaws apart, even though Ethan fought him. The fingers moved to his neck, adding enough pressure to make him stop fighting as Mark’s cock was shoved into his mouth.

 

“Suck it. And if I feel teeth…” There was the click of a safety being taken off a gun as Ethan felt the cold barrel press to his temple.

 

Ethan did as he was told, taking Mark’s dick between his lips, trying to get him off as soon as possible to get this over with. Apparently it wasn’t enough. Someone else came up behind him, gripping his hair to make his stay still as Mark began to fuck his mouth. Ethan choked slightly, unable to breathe when the cock was shoved into his throat, but Mark didn’t care. He felt tears in his eyes as Mark thrust in deeper before pulling out, his come spattering Ethan’s face.

 

He barely had time to catch his breath before another dick was pushed into his mouth, only this time he was forced lower, Jacob kneeling before him. His hands had been uncuffed, only to be refastened in front of him, allowing him to balance.

 

“Open wide, you little cocksucker.”

 

Knowing that he couldn’t get away from them if he tried, that it would only make it worse for him, Ethan obediently sucked Jacob off, trying not to gag when the man forced himself in deeper.

 

When his knees were kicked apart, he had a pretty good idea of what was coming next and tried not to let his reactions show, but he still couldn’t hold back the cry as the unknown guard spat on his hole before forcing his cock into Ethan, unprepared except for the tiny amount of saliva. Jacob pressed his hips forward, effectively silencing Ethan’s cries and whimpers with his cock.

 

“Having fun yet?” Jacob asked nastily, almost choking Ethan with his cock as he pushed in further. “I thought this was what you got off on- pain, humiliation.”

 

Ethan struggled but that just seemed to encourage Jacob. He was starting to feel light headed, panic building within him as Jacob refused to ease up and let him take a proper breath. He held Ethan’s hair tightly to stop him moving as he fucked Ethan’s mouth, and his throat was hurting now. The man behind him continued to pound into him at a relentless pace until he pulled out suddenly and Ethan felt the sticky heat on his back as the man came over him. His mouth was flooded with come, giving him no choice but to try and swallow it.

 

As soon as the man behind him was done he stood up, wiping himself clean and fastening his trousers, as Jacob pulled back and pushed Ethan away from him. Ethan didn’t have the energy left to hold himself up and he landed on the floor, staying there. His jaw ached, his entire body felt bruised, his throat was raw, his arse hurt and he was sure he would be bleeding if he could only check, but what could he do?

 

He sensed something happening when suddenly Becker’s men shifted, going to the door as someone else entered.

 

Matt.

 

His boyfriend looked dreadful- no, he corrected himself, not his boyfriend- probably as bad as he did at present, Ethan thought. He remembered what had happened every other time he’d tried to ask after him, however, and kept his mouth shut. Laying on the floor, curled around himself, he watched as Matt came closer, flanked by Jacob and Mark.

 

“Not so much fun when you’re on the receiving end, is it?” he asked, his voice sounding rough. “Why Connor? All he ever did was try and help me. Just as I did to you. I took you in, tried to give you a normal life, but you just threw it back in my face. To begin with, I tried to tell myself that maybe you didn’t understand that it was wrong, that you didn’t mean to hurt me, even when you forced yourself on me. I thought that maybe you just needed a bit more time to adjust, but you knew exactly what you were doing, didn’t you? It was just some sick little game; make us believe you’d changed just so you could fuck with us? Why, Ethan? Just answer me that.”

 

Ethan remained quiet, not wanting another kicking if he spoke to Matt.

 

“I asked you a question! When you held me by the throat and raped me, or when you threatened to kill Jess and Abby if I told anyone else what you were doing, did that make you feel superior? Or was it just fun for you? I was probably the one person in this world who actually cared, but I guess I was wrong. Who could care about a monster like you?”

 

Whatever he said now wasn’t going to make a difference, and just the knowledge that the Ethan of this world had done those things, had hurt Matt, made him want to give up. And Connor. He liked Connor; the kid had been nice to him almost from the start, once he’d got over his fear. Now he was dead. Despite the things he’d done in the past, the thought that he’d put his friends through that made his heart go cold.

 

“Just do it,” he said, resignedly, rolling back onto his stomach, not even bothering to fight this time.

 

Matt let out a bitter laugh. “Don’t flatter yourself; I wouldn’t put my dick near you if you were the last man on Earth,” he said. “You’re not even worth the effort.”

 

Ethan just lay there as Matt unzipped his jeans and took out his cock, letting the golden stream of piss hit him, running off his shoulders, soaking his hair and face as Matt shifted slightly.

 

“You’re not worth it,” Matt repeated, zipping himself back up and limping out of the room.

 

~.~

 

Outside, Danny saw Matt emerge from the building, Mark and Jacob at his sides. At Mark’s nod, Becker pulled the gun from its holster on his thigh and thumbed off the safety. He hadn’t let Danny out of his sights since their argument earlier, when Danny had tried once again to convince Becker that they didn’t belong here. Becker had put him in the car under the guise of letting him sit down, but making sure he couldn’t get out again. He had to do something now, however, and quickly.

 

“Becks, let me do it. He’s my brother.”

 

Becker eyed him sceptically for a few seconds before giving a curt nod. “Fine. The anomaly’s been opening roughly every hour or so since you went through- we can toss him back through when you’re done. Save on paperwork.”

 

Danny could hardly believe that Becker could be so cold, but then he thought back to what Becker had said earlier. Connor was dead- stabbed to death by Ethan as the younger man had tried to intervene when he’d gone to call on Matt, to check on him. Matt had suffered countless injuries from months of abuse at the hands of Ethan when his brother’s path had strayed from that in their world. Instead of working with the team, falling in love with Matt, here he had used Matt’s kindness as a means to an end. It gave him access to the ARC, a place to sleep and a warm body to take out his frustrations on. He had then tried to kill Matt, and would have been successful if not for Connor’s accidental intervention. The only reason Matt’s throat hadn’t been completely slit was that Connor had knocked on the door at exactly the right time. It had cost him his life, but allowed them enough time to get Matt to a hospital.

 

Becker flipped the gun in his hand, holding the barrel to hand it to Danny, waiting until he took it. When he set off into the building, Danny stopped him.

 

“I need to go on my own. He’s family, like it or not, and I have to do this myself.”

 

He could tell that Becker wasn’t entirely convinced but he went back to lean on the vehicle once more, knowing that his men were already inside.

 

Danny went into the room and didn’t look at Ethan. He could smell piss and sex and if he looked, his reaction was going to give him away. Instead, he turned to the two men guarding the room.

 

“Becker said to wait outside.”

 

Pete shrugged his shoulders. “’Not like he’s going anywhere,” he said, with a nod toward Ethan. “Anomaly should be open again in about five minutes; give us a yell and we’ll help you dump his body through.”

 

“Thanks.” Danny forced a smile as the two men left, kicking the door shut before turning to look at Ethan.

 

“Oh fucking hell, Ethan! I am so sorry; I should have tried harder to get here earlier.”

 

He crouched beside his brother, eyes taking note of the bruises that were already showing. There were boot-sized marks over his ribs, imprints of fists, finger marks on his throat, and Danny could see the various bodily fluids on his skin and pooling on the stone floor beneath him. What concerned him more was the fact that Ethan hadn’t moved. Gently rolling him over, he saw the surrender in Ethan’s eyes, the tracks down his cheeks where tears had obviously fallen.

 

“I hurt him.”

 

Danny had to lean close to hear him, Ethan’s voice no more than a whisper.

 

“No, you didn’t. It was him; the other you did those things.”

 

“But what if I’m programmed that way? What if I do hurt him one day?”

 

Danny shook his head. “That’s enough. You’re two completely different people; you’re not like him.

 

Standing again, Danny raised the gun that Becker had given him and fired twice into the wooden bench in the far corner. The noise echoed around the room, and hopefully outside, to give those waiting the impression that the deed was done.

 

“Quinn?”

 

Danny went to the door before they could come in, cracking it open just enough to see Pete.

 

“I’m fine. Look, you should go back, get Matt out of here. I’ll take Ethan back through the anomaly and make my own way back.”

 

Pete nodded to his colleague, who turned and headed out to the vehicles, but Pete stayed where he was.

 

“I’ll wait for you; I don’t mind.”

 

Danny saw the anomaly begin to flare again, out in the open area of the prison.

 

“You don’t have to. I could do with a bit of time to myself,” he said, but still Pete insisted on waiting. He really didn’t want to do this, but he had no choice; the anomaly wouldn’t stay open forever. He let the man into the cell. “In that case, I’m sorry, Pete, really I am.”

 

As the man came inside, Danny knew the moment Pete realised that Ethan was still alive. He began to shout, but Danny brought the butt of the gun down across the back of his skull, knocking him unconscious.

 

“Come on, Ethan. You need to help me,” Danny said, trying to get his brother onto his feet. It was like moving dead weight. “Please! We need to go before someone comes back.”

 

Ethan finally seemed to wake up, to at least attempt to stand up as Danny hauled him upright and leaned him back against the wall. He wished he had time to clean Ethan up, to remove some of the trace of what had been done to him, but he meant what he said. It wouldn’t be long before someone came back to find out where Pete was, and he wanted to be long gone by that point.

 

Pulling Pete’s jacket off his still-unconscious body, Danny helped Ethan into it. It didn’t do much but at least it gave him some illusion of being covered up. He also found a key to the handcuffs in the jacket pocket, freeing his brother’s arms.

 

“Right, now I know you’re hurting but we have got to move,” Danny said, getting his shoulders under Ethan’s arm, holding him up as he headed for the anomaly.

 

They were almost there when Danny heard a groan from inside the cell, followed by the crackle of a radio. He doubled his efforts, moving Ethan along faster, through the anomaly.

 

Just a short distance to go, he thought, seeing another anomaly just in front of them. Someone came through the one they’d just emerged from, shouting for him to stop.

 

“Becker, just leave us alone,” he shouted back. “Just go back.”

 

The bullet impacted in the tree next to him, so close that he thought he could feel the rush of air past his left ear. There were only a few more steps to the second anomaly, the one they should have taken in the beginning instead of the one that led them to the parallel world. Turning, he saw that the first anomaly was flickering.

 

“Becker, if you don’t go back now, you might be stuck!” Danny said. “I promise that you’ll never see us again if you just leave us here.”

 

Becker glanced over his shoulder and hesitated. With one final look back at them, he holstered the gun and ran back to the anomaly. Danny heaved a sigh of relief and moments later he and Ethan stepped through their own anomaly.

 

The team were already waiting there, Becker and Matt looking ready to mount a search and rescue. When they emerged, Danny still dragging a half-naked, beaten and semi-conscious Ethan, they both dropped their equipment and ran to help.

 

“What the hell happened to him?” Matt demanded, taking off his own jacket to cover Ethan as they got him to the vehicle.

 

Easing him into the back seat, Matt began to get in with him, but Ethan chose that moment to become aware of where he was. As soon as he saw Matt, his eyes widened and he backed away, keeping out of reach.

 

“Don’t touch me!”

 

Danny could see the hurt on Matt’s face at being pushed away, the confusion, and took him aside.

 

“I think you ought to wait here,” Danny told him. “Do not let Becker or any of his men near for the moment, either. I’ll explain later, but I need to get him treated first. Abby? Could you drive us, please?”

 

She nodded, and Danny was grateful for her lack of questions as she climbed into the driver’s seat, leaving Danny to get into the back with Ethan.

 

~.~

 

Matt sat outside the hospital room, where he’d been waiting with Connor and trying to be patient. Becker’s men had stayed away as Danny had requested, Abby going off to call Lester and let him know that Danny and Ethan were back but that they were at the hospital. Danny came out to sit with them while the doctor was examining Ethan. They had to sedate him as he had begun to fight them the moment they came close to him.

 

“Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on? Please, Danny; I just want to make sure he’s alright but I can’t even go near him,” Matt said. “He looked at me as though he was scared of me.”

 

Danny glanced across at Connor. “Can you wait here in case the doctor comes out?” When the younger man nodded, Danny led Matt into an empty room across the corridor and closed the door. “You might want to sit down…”

 

Matt just stared at Danny in horror as he talked. “You let them do that to him? What the hell were you doing while they were torturing him?”

 

“Hold on a minute,” Danny told him angrily. “I tried to explain, and then I tried to go back for him, but the more I protested, the more they watched me. Becker practically had me under arrest! I was afraid they’d take me back to the ARC and then I wouldn’t have been there to stop one of them from killing him. If I’d known what they were doing, if I’d been able to stop them, don’t you think I would have? I thought they’d just rough him up a bit. I knew he could handle that, but I never expected them to go this far.” The anger faded from his voice as he looked at Matt. “He’s my little brother. If I could have traded places with him, I would have in a heartbeat.”

 

“I know. I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do,” Matt told him. “I want to help him but you saw how freaked out he was when I got close. God knows what alternate-me did to him.”

 

There was a knock on the door and Connor signalling them through the window, letting them know that the doctor had come back out.

 

“I’ll ask him if he feels up to seeing you,” Danny said. “I think what broke him was knowing that the other version of him had hurt you- I mean, other you. He still cares, he just needs a bit of time to separate the two worlds in his mind.”

 

By the time they got outside again, Lester had arrived and was throwing his weight around to get answers to questions usually reserved for family members only. Danny was glad he was here as there were a lot of things in this that were going to cause problems, such as DNA swabs from any rape-kits that had been run. They were going to lead back to three perfectly innocent men back at the ARC rather than their guilty alternate-reality counterparts. They couldn’t let the police get involved as, technically, the patient didn’t exist, and his real identity had been declared missing and presumed dead years ago. It would have been more sensible to go to the ARC medics in order to keep things private, but Danny had just been thinking about getting his brother treated, nothing else.

 

“Mr Quinn? Are you his next of kin? It appears that Mr Dobrowski has no medical history on our files-”

 

Danny cut him off. “I’m his brother and Matt is his partner,” he said, at the same time as Lester flashed his ID.

 

“James Lester: Home Office. Mr Dobrowski’s records are not public, and I must ask that any notes or samples taken from him during these examinations are turned over to us immediately upon conclusion of his treatment.”

 

The doctor looked annoyed at being ordered around, but he nodded and turned back to Danny, reeling off a list of injuries and concerns.

 

~.~

 

Ethan was released the following afternoon, following the doctors insistence on keeping him for observation for twenty-four hours. They gave him a list of instructions and enough medication to stock a small pharmacy; painkillers, anti-inflammatories, anti-virals. He had been given an appointment for counselling, but he told Danny he had no intention of attending it, not wanting to talk to a total stranger.

 

“You can’t make me go,” he said stubbornly. Danny smiled, glad to see a spark of the old Ethan coming back.

 

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, getting into the car. Ethan had informed him that he wanted to go home, back to Matt’s flat, and so that was where Danny took him.

 

Matt was waiting when they got back, hovering around in the living room, as though not knowing what to do. Ethan looked at him, telling himself that this wasn’t the same person, that he wasn’t the Matt who had been hurt at his counterpart’s hands, who had come to see him in that cell. This was his Matt, the same man he had been living with for months and who Danny said had been sitting outside his hospital room ever since he was taken in, right up until they had forcibly taken him home to get some sleep at around ten o’clock this morning.

 

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” Danny asked and, though he was tempted to grab onto Danny’s hand and tell him to stay, he nodded. “Just remember to call me if you want anything, even if it’s just to talk.”

 

Ethan assured him that he would, offering the same to Danny. After all, he was living with Becker here, the same man who had kept him from and then been ready to murder his brother in the other universe.

 

He watched Danny leave, hearing the door close, and then it was just him and Matt. For a long moment they stood in awkward silence, waiting for the other to move in order to have something to gauge their own actions against. Ethan was embarrassed to feel his eyes welling up as he stood there, clutching his bag of medicines and leaflets.

 

“I’d never hurt you,” he said suddenly. “You know I wouldn’t, right?”

 

Matt nodded, coming forward hesitantly and, when Ethan didn’t back away, taking him in his arms.

 

“I know.”

 

Ethan stood there, letting Matt hug him. “In that place, you said no one could care about me,” he said quietly. “Tell me I’m not worthless. Please.”

 

Moving back to hold him at arms’ length, Matt looked him in the eyes. “You are worth more to me than anything in this world, and I’ll keep telling you that until you believe me. Now, you’re supposed to be resting so let’s get you to bed. I made up the spare room,” Matt told him. “I’ll sleep in there, if you want.”

 

~.~

 

As Matt helped him getting ready for bed, he could see Matt trying not to stare at the multitude of marks on his body. His skin was mottled with purple bruises and there were bandages around both wrists where the handcuffs had cut into his skin during his struggling. He took the tablets that Matt gave him and got into bed.

 

“I’m going to be in the next room if you need anything,” Matt said, but as he began to walk away, Ethan felt a rush of panic, reaching out to clamp his hand tightly around Matt’s arm.

 

“Don’t. I mean, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

 

Matt stopped. “Do you want me to stay?”

 

Ethan nodded, watching as Matt undressed down to his boxers. As Matt unfastened his jeans, the thought of the last time he’d seen him do that same action made Ethan’s breath catch in his throat, a feeing of relief when Matt simply finished undressing and climbed into bed next to him.

 

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Matt asked. “For a second there you looked like you were about to pass out.”

 

~.~

 

Nearly a week later, Ethan traced his finger over the skin of Matt’s throat in a move that had become almost habit. He had to keep checking but there were no signs of marks.

 

“You keep doing that,” Matt said. “What are you looking for?”

 

“It’s silly. Matt, you said that if I wanted to talk, you’d listen, right?”

 

Matt nodded and, taking a deep breath, Ethan though of the best way to start. It was time, he thought.

 

“I know Danny told you what had happened when we got back,” he began. “But he didn’t know all of it. I think need to tell you the rest…”

 

 


End file.
